Most aircraft feature wings, which are fixed in place and incapable of being stowed or folded. This limitation prevents aircraft from being stored in small spaces or launched out of containers, such as tubes, and subsequently unfurled into flight configuration. Presently, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are often smaller than conventional aircraft and can sometimes be hand-carried, are increasingly employed for remote sensing in commercial and industrial applications. UAVs would benefit from additional systems and methods to increase their ability to be compactly stored and launched.
Some existing designs for folding wings utilize flexible wing materials and airfoil shapes. However, such designs may decrease aerodynamic performance and otherwise be structurally deficient. Other existing designs incorporate a large number of individual components, which may result in increased cost and complexity, and reduced reliability. Still other designs employ a single spring-loaded hinge attached to single-section wing halves, which can only deploy a wing with relatively low span, thus increasing drag and decreasing aircraft performance and endurance.
The systems and methods disclosed herein address one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of existing designs.